G8, Interpol may police our mobile phones

New proposals aim to nip file sharing by phone in the bud

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By now, we're all fully aware of the increasing pressure copyright holders are putting on ISPs to warn their customers about what's seen as illegal file-sharing, but news from the G8 this week looks like adding mobile phones to the watch-list.

An OECD Council study into "digital piracy, which encompasses the infringement of all copyrighted materials including recorded music, motion pictures, software, books and journals" looks like becoming legislation that the G8 will suggest members adopt.

Mobile phone sharing raised

The proposed Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will, of course, increase the pressure on ISPs to cut off their own customers, but it is likely to also target "mobile phone sharing," according to the press release.

Even more ominously, Interpol is getting involved too, although its involvement will initially be directed at large-scale copying of tangible goods.

We're watching you

However, there's no reason why it can't force phone companies to disconnect the mobiles of anyone suspected of emailing a friend a ringtone they haven't paid for or a DRM-stripped iTunes song.

While it's true that "Technological developments … such as the advent of peer-to-peer file sharing have posed new challenges to many countries" we hadn't expected phones to be targeted in the same way as the PC-centric internet.

When that happens, we'll be able to kiss goodbye to the concept of anonymity anywhere we go online, including the back of the bus.